Great article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the trend of dining out with young kids. I didn’t realize we were so unoriginal, but we love taking our little guy out to a meal at least once per week. We like exposing him to both new flavors and new environments. He seems to be stimulated. From a selfish standpoint, we get to maintain some element of our old lifestyle, involve the kid in our world and there’s nothing better than seeing him devour a half-sour pickle at a NY deli or stuff handfuls of seaweed salad into his mouth.

But we always try to be conscious of the restaurant, wait staff and other patrons when we go out. Even to casual places. The tips for parents in the Chronicle story are a great starting point:

– Work on good manners at home, not just when you’re out.

– Practice dining out at more casual restaurants so kids learn some ground rules.

– With younger children, be realistic about how long they can sit.

– Arrive within the first hour of service, with kids who are hungry but not starving.

– Bring a goodie bag of new coloring books, or reserve certain toys for restaurant dining.

– Don’t let children leave the table. It’s not safe.

– Don’t assume that fellow diners want to interact with your kids.

We would also add the following:

• Order something for the little one as quickly as possible
• Bring a big bib, and consider bringing your own placemat
• If your kid leaves a mess, and they will, consider leaving an above-average tip in consideration of the extra cleanup

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/25/FD3EVLC1V.DTL